Morning Headlines - Friday, Oct. 6, 2023 | Recent News

U.S. and World Headlines

Donald Trump Endorses 'Star' GOP Congressman Jim Jordan To Succeed Kevin McCarthy As House Speaker

Donald Trump has officially endorsed his combative ally Jim Jordan to succeed ousted Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, apparently ending speculation that the former president could fill the role himself.

In the early hours of Friday, Trump took to his Truth Social social media platform to say that Ohio congressman Jordan 'will be a GREAT Speaker of the House, & has my Complete & Total Endorsement!'

Some Republicans in Congress had asked Trump to take the role of speaker temporarily to 'unify' the party, and he had said he would if it was 'necessary'.

Spoiler Alert: Biden World Is Taking Third-Party Threats Seriously

LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman convened a Zoom call with 30 other like-minded donors this week to address a persistent fear among national Democrats: Third-party candidates who could undercut Joe Biden’s campaign.

In particular, the donors on the line were worried about No Labels, a group that said it has raised millions to gain access to the ballot in at least 10 states for a potential presidential candidate. Hoffman and Matt Bennett, co-founder of the centrist organization Third Way, argued during the meeting that not only is a third-party victory implausible but that independent candidates would inevitably hurt Biden, said one participant on the call, granted anonymity to discuss the issue candidly.

Biden Stuns Allies With Border Wall Bombshell

President Biden’s decision this week to move forward with border wall construction that Democrats have long denounced shocked allies and immigration advocates.

The stunning reversal came just days after administration officials participated in an immigration roundtable at the Capitol featuring Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) members and immigration advocates.

The administration’s participation in the roundtable drew praise from CHC members; administration officials did not mention plans to restart border wall construction.

CHC leaders on Thursday called the decision “disappointing.”

U.S. Added 336,000 Jobs In September, Blowing Past Forecasts

The U.S. economy created 336,000 jobs last month, the U.S. Labor Department said Friday. The blowout number proved nearly double economists' expectations for September.

Economists had expected 170,000 new jobs in September, according to a poll by FactSet.

The jobless rate stood at 3.8% in September, the government reported.

Dick Butkus, Hall Of Fame Linebacker For Chicago Bears, Dies

Dick Butkus, arguably the fiercest Monster of the Midway, has died at age 80.

Butkus became a Bears legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer in his nine-year career, which started in 1965. The middle linebacker was a vicious tackler whose intimidating presence put some players on their heels before the ball was even snapped.

In a statement released through the Bears, Butkus' family said he "died peacefully in his sleep overnight" at his home in Malibu, California.

Wisconsin And Missouri Residents Sentenced To Prison For Bank Fraud

Gregory J. Haanstad, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on September 28 and October 4, 2023, respectively, Senior United States District Judge William C. Griesbach sentenced both Jimmy A. Walker (age: 30) and Marialuwisa A. Prado (age: 26) to 14 months’ imprisonment and 3 years’ supervised release after they pled guilty to bank fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344.

According to court records, Prado is a Wisconsin resident, and Walker resides in Missouri. In May 2022, while Prado was working for a private mail-sorting business in Brookfield, Wisconsin, she stole mail that contained a check in the amount of $600,263.55. The check had been written by a Wisconsin corporation, and was made payable to another Wisconsin corporation, for business-related services. It never reached the intended recipient. Instead, Prado sent the stolen check by FedEx to Walker in Missouri, who had previously set up a sham bank account under the name of the Wisconsin business. Walker opened the account at a bank branch in Olivette, Missouri, and then drove to a different branch of the same bank in nearby Ballwin, Missouri, where he deposited the stolen check. Fortunately, bank officials flagged the transaction and prevented any funds from being unlawfully withdrawn.

Wisconsin Contractor & Wife Plead Guilty To Home Improvement Project Fraud Scheme

Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Tyler Hansen, 52, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Madison to wire fraud and money laundering charges in connection to a contractor fraud scheme he committed throughout Wisconsin. Jennifer Hansen, 43, who is Tyler Hansen’s wife, also pleaded guilty today to money laundering in connection with her participation in the fraud scheme.

Between October 2020 and September 2022, Tyler Hansen operated a home improvement business based in Dane County and Jefferson County that operated under multiple names, including Weathersealed Wisconsin and EcoView Windows of South-Central Wisconsin. At today’s hearing, Tyler Hansen pleaded guilty to engaging in a wire fraud scheme in which he entered into contracts for home improvement projects with customers throughout Wisconsin knowing he did not intend to order supplies for the jobs or otherwise start the projects. The contracts were for various home improvement projects, including windows, sunrooms, bathroom remodels, roofs, and doors. At the time the project contracts were signed, Tyler Hansen and his associates regularly required that the customers pay 50% of the total contract price as a down payment. As part of the plea agreement, Tyler Hansen admitted that he lied to his customers and told them that he used the money from the down payments to purchase building materials for their projects. Instead, Tyler Hansen used the money from the down payments to pay for personal expenses.

Vos Says He Will Wait On Court Ruling On The Status Of Wisconsin's Top Elections Official

The Republican leader of the Wisconsin Assembly said Oct. 5 that he will not pursue impeachment for the presidential battleground state’s nonpartisan top elections official, despite calls from the Republican president of the state Senate to do so.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos told a WKOW-TV reporter that he will wait until a judge has determined whether the Republican-controlled Senate had the authority to vote in September to fire Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe before he takes any further steps to oust her.

Armed Man Detained After Seeking Evers At Wisconsin State Capitol

An armed man was at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison on Wednesday, looking for Governor Governor Tony Evers. According to a visitor alert from Capitol Police the man appeared at the desk outside Governor Tony Evers office at the Capitol just before two o’clock Wednesday afternoon.

The man was open carrying a handgun and told the officer at the desk he would not leave until he saw Governor Evers. He was told he could not open carry in the Capitol. He was arrested for openly carrying a gun in a state building.

Witnesses Pack Assembly Hearings On Transgender Bills

Dem Rep. Lisa Subeck ripped Republicans for trying to restrict medical freedoms with a bill to ban gender-affirming care for kids, which she says would also increase suicide rates.

But co-authors Rep. Scott Allen, of Waukesha, and Sen. Duey Stroebel, of Saukville, argued AB 465 gives Wisconsinites too young to know exactly what they want more time to figure it out before going through what they call permanent changes. Allen said the bill still respects the right to choose and protects youth who might be easily persuaded.

“In a democracy, we respect the choices of others, and we also recognize some choices have such long-lasting effects that those choices should only be left to adults,” Allen said.